THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. As you probably have heard, and some of you have reported, a missile was launched a little while ago from North Korea.

I will only tell you that we will take care of it. We have General Mattis in the room with us, and we've had a long discussion on it. It is a situation that we will handle.

... I may just have General Mattis say just a couple of words about what he has found out. General, do you want to say just a couple of little pieces of information to the media?

SECRETARY MATTIS: Mr. President, Senator, Speaker, a little over two and a half hours ago, North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile. It went higher, frankly, than any previous shot they've taken. It's a research and development effort on their part to continue building ballistic missiles that could threaten everywhere in the world, basically.

And in response, the South Koreans have fired some pinpoint missiles out into the water to make certain North Korea understands that they could be taken under fire by our ally.

But the bottom line is, it's a continued effort to build a threat -- a ballistic missile threat that endangers world peace, regional peace, and certainly, the United States.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, General. And we will take care of that situation. Thank you all very much. I appreciate it. Thank you.

Q. Does this change anything to your basic approach to North Korea, these missile launches today? Does it change anything about your basic approach to dealing with them?

THE PRESIDENT: Nothing changed. Nothing changed. We have a very serious approach, but nothing changed. We take it very seriously.